Automatic musical instrument



.I. Hi DICKINSON. AUTOMATIC MUSICAL IN STRUMENI.

FILED Nov. 5. 1918.

2 SHEETS SHEET 1.

Feb. 13, 1923.

1. H. DICKINSON.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

2 SHEETS'MSHEET 2.

FILED NOV-5.1918.

Patented Feb. 13, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH HUNTER DICKINSON, OF LARCHMONT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE AEOLIAN COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Application filed November 5, 1918. Serial No. 261,239.

To all ii /101): may 507100771.

Be it known that 1 Josarrr TTU'NTLR DroniNsox a citizen of the l n w. States,

residin' Larchmont. New

' n new and useful Tim niatic Musical l This invention depends upon the discoverv that the average uninusical person playan automatic piano can readi y give a pleasingniusical interpretation of the solo notes the music-roll (l) by listen the d u musical expression giver tomatically or a skilled. 13813. nicr to the 'r accompaniment notes and sympathetically operating. a? he listens. the means which controls the dynamics oil the solo notes. The invent on rcsides in the combination of mean. by which the above discovery can be pract cally utilized in a working instrument.

The drawings show diagraiiuzaatically in F i 's. and 2 two of the possible embodists my invention is adapted to take. Fig. showing the preferred embodiment. The wings show the parts spread out diaw imatically with only the o 'icrativc connect ons between tliem indicated. but it will be understood that in practice they will ordinarily be compactly embodied in an operative manner in the piano. Also, no attempt has been made to show the p: is in their relative size or correct proportions. F 5 is a horizontal section partly in plan on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows, but the valve is shown partly open instead of closed as in Fig. 2.

1 designates the music-sheet of the automatic piano, 2 the usual tracker-bar supposed to have the usual note-playing ducts, 3 the automatic player action supposed to comprise the usual pouches ope 'atively related to the ducts of the tracker-bar. valves, striker-pneumatics and other parts well known in this art. Also, 4 is the usual pair of foot-pedals for operating the usual pair companiment notes are struck. The diagram shows a well known type of said bellows wherein 7 is a box having sides and a top with a port through it at 7* but having no bottom. 8 is an internal port controlled by the kniie-valve 9 inside the box 7. This port 8 is the mouth oi? a pipe or coupling which projects inwardly through the rear side of the box and at its other end is connected by tubing 10 with the reservoir 6. 11 is a rock-shaft projecting through a suitable bearing-opening in the front side of the box. Within the box it has a rigid crank-arm 12 pivotally connected to the heel of the valve 9. Outside the box it has a rigid crank-arm 13. 14 is a rod pivotally connecting said crank-arm 13 with the top board of the so-called accordion bellows 15, consisting of a plurality of separate bellows a, Z), 0, (Z, secured together in a stack one on top oi another. the bottom-board of the stack being secured to a fixed support said separate bellows having different extents of collapse. Tubing 16 and valve-boxes 17 operatively connectin well-known manner the tracker-ducts 2 2 2, and 2 respectively with the separate compartments. a, Z), c and (Z of the accordion bellows. The tension spiral spring 18 keeps the accordion bellows normally expanded as shown. It will be understood. that whenever music-sheet perforations 25 register with one or more of the tracker-ducts 2 to 2 the corresponding valves 17 are operated to cause the exhaust and collapse of the corresponding compartments a to (Z of the accordion bellows.

22 is a link connecting the toe of the knife-valve 9 with the movableb0ard 7 of the regulating-bellows. 23 is the usual regulating or expression bellows spring connecting the movable board 7 with a stationary part 24, said spring as usual belng an adjustable tension spring tending to open the bellows and also tending by means of the link 22 to swing the toe of the valve 9 downwardly so as to uncover its port 8.

19 is a tight box mounted on the box 7 divided into rightand left-hand compartments by a partition having a port 19 controlled by a flap-valve 20. 21 is a pipe which connects the player-action 3 with the left-hand compartment of the box 19.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the player-action 3 is operatively connected port ction betwee 1 and e 1e ecr-aeiiie 'i'i'i'em mu. ie=

1h '1 with This pouch 'wmrkm h ien yes'ermen L L he he lief meted by tune .ern

heiim the 5110 est .1 m: n the pi l'ect :au

"ores-aid valve 27 -1 d 1? -"is pe nde. cejnnee'tie 1e unm t1 voir 6 via the pipe 2 835$ COIEH eeer 3 .ed. a

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i; 7 emnressieh e 10.

ompartn'len't of partment 21' ed close is eat connectien is .1 dz. It. 'Wil k hing matical perfomi' ct 80 con layer-action nneet 7e 21. (hr .1 the pl reservoir c113 th The ante eet aekendu apeuch 322 111 21 v with the suctien-r port 63% per 8 and p1 In addition, b v-p the p valve pouch twee 2O IGSQPY the 101 hauste is sh 1. 11am ep- 11 plue e. enter; as

uh 0*. crates an inside 1 pert er port 32 001111 uppe tween .1 35 and a "'vml and 'e 32 in .he vol- 115 mpered with ope". Va].

1 h v-peee 9 Between the player-action sci .8 1s mad 9 G S U m HM valve 27 ever and :forati n I 5 AU r e P Q C Mn 1% r x W N H n E a 6 v L T +L V 0 G Ob n 5 .1 7 E a C m d 0 1 n 11 1 w u n m m q O 6 :M O T Y T a C 6 .1 f. C n1 T 1 7. U a L G I n T S l S I 1 v .m T 1 "Md 0 J .1 na 11 on v e d M 1 1 1 1 r O +u i n P. w A S 1 O U U T t um fl e C mm 11.1 mm h m M 6 G +1 1 1 1 & 1 \JTLJ I L .1.1 1 0 v 3 1 (A C Q. C ,L r H n he 1 B a 3 gri U HG hh 0 O T t 1..., D. S 5 3 0 5 6 5 on 6 so to affect the affecting; the adjacent rmonv notes 33, iRVGlLrOZl. it surp satist'act- 'il the o; ator i e solo and musica composition, 3 heat the automatic. i 3 a guide, and without i tiliaing it in the production )1, uniuusical o ierator is cona. li t lost and unable to render or harmony with eloquence or v. as stated this becomes a to the some ersou playing ncnt embodying my invention.

the foregoing, the au cion oi the valve 27 by the ions 99 can he (i pensed with; l operated valve can he L s in i ie. 2 for said valve 27 tic means for operating; it. shown as a slide valve conaped icrt 36 in the partition -38 connected between the up- .f lower tube 28., The hand le- 39 onnects with the valve 3 so that the port 36 c he momentarily opened wide and then closed in accordance with the occurrence at the tracker-inn of the forward ends ic respective solo notes 34 recognizable l 3y their differentiated apr ce or otherwise. should be necessary or desirable to an ele ric or power-driven eX -5) as in Fig. 2 tor the preferred n (TillflllStGlf in Fig" 1, then the hand vali'c will be not only mo y opened before describerl but will be opened hy the operator to varying; ext a prouortioually to the denree of loudwii'h wh ch he then hears the harmony o '1' automatically expressed. it will be understood that otherwise the av no no t 1(1 0 no; GS

iilust-ratcd in Fig. 2 the same as those in Fig 1 (and --onsequentl they have not been set forth with the same detail as in F l, but like numerals have been used to d iatc like parts,

t course, a reversal is conceivable wherell] LG d cs of the solo are automatically expressem leaving it to the operator to express the dynamics 0'? the harmony notes in gcordance with this invention. Also other change modifications are doubtless possible wlwrh neve theless within the spirit o uy inyention and of the taregoing disclosure and the annexed claims and as such covered thereljly.

hat I claim is 1. ln combination with a musical instrunreut a music-sheet controlled player action, onl a musicsheet ha *ing sets of o ,omhions for th solo and harmony parts respectively of a composition the perbe ng alranced rela' el; and havi related harmon foot-p oped air 4 id action means operasa l acti u and oroaiucer a controlled i said nanuc ffprrssion pe orations to vary tne ii tension in the action to give music-sheet controlled dynamicswxpress-i a: to the notes many part o the composition l l constitute an aural :ruidc to the performer in the rend on of the solo part oi the composition, s. 1d means being; operaf to maintain a subst uitially less powerful air tension in the action than in the producer and means adapted to connec said producer with the player action at the times when the note perforations reach the trackerboard to produo n r the control of the performe a relatively higher air tension in the action, thereby giving to the n tes 01'. the solo part of the composition. dynamics-em pression which is distincti ely louder than that given to the notes of the harmony part by the dyuamics-cxpression per toratirrms of the note sheet,v

2. In combination with a. musical instrument, a music-sheet controlled player-m cion including; tracker-board; a music-sheet having dynamics-expression perforations related to one of a plurality of mu ical parts represented by music-perfo1utions in said sheet; an air-tension producer operatively connected with d action; means controlled from said expressionperforations tor varying the air-tension in the action. to sound the first-named musical part with musicsheet controlled dynamiz-s-exprcssion; and means control]. ole by the operator and operable to produce an air tension in the player action which is proportionally diii'erent "from that produced by the aforesaid music-sheet controlled means at the times when the respective music-perforations for said second part reach the tracker-board, thereby giving relatively different dynamics-expression to said second. part.

3. In a musical instrument adapted to be played from a music-sheet. the combination of a player action controlled by the musicsheet music-sheet controlled means for causinnthe player action to render one musical part of the composition with dynamics-expression which will constitute an aural guide to the performer in the rendition of the other musical part of the composition, and means controllable by the performer and capable of giving dynamics-expression to said other part of the composition as indicated by said aural guide.

4. In a musical instrument adapted to be p ayed. from music-sheet having note porforations for the solo and harmony parts of t e note l the comp 4 t ion producer i A I tr'uv related to a composition and also dynamics-expression erforations operatively related to the note 'foations for one of said parts of the composition, the combination of a player action controlled by the solo and hi aony note perforations of the music-sheet, means controlled by the dynamics-expression perforations of the musicsheet to give dynamicsexpression to the corresponding part of the composition and to thus produce an aural guide for the performer in rendering the other part of the composition, and means controllable by the performer and related t the note perforations for said other part only of the composition f r iving, at the will of the performer, dyn mics-expression 'd other part of the composition,

in a musical instrument, the combination of a, music having solo and harmony note perforations and dynamicsexpression perforations related to the harmony note perforations, a player action controlled by the solo and harmony note perforations of the music sheet, means controlled by said dynamics-eriipression perforations to give dynamics-expression to the harmony part of the composition and thus produce an aural guide Which Will indicate to the performer the dynamicsexpression to be given to the solo part of the composition, and means controllable by the performer and related to the solo note perforations only of the mus c-sheet for giving, at the Will of the performer, dynainics-expression to the solo part of the composition, as indicated by said aural guide.

6. In a musical instrument adapted to play a musio sheet having solo and harmony note perforations and also dynamics-expression perforations related to the harmony note perforations, the combination of a player action, air-tension producer connected thereto, means controlled by the dynamicsexpression perforations for regulating the air tension in the player action for the playing of the harmony notes and to thus render the harmony With dynamicsexpression Which constitutes an aural. guide to the pertormer in the rendition of the solo, and means controllable by the performer for producing a relatively increased air tension in the player action for the playing of the solo notes only, as indicated by said aural guide.

7. In a musical instrument, the combination of a music-sheet having note perforations for the solo and harmony notes of a composition, the note perforations for the respective parts of the composition being differently arranged thereon, and also having dynarmies-expression perforations for one of said parts of the composition, a cooperative traoker board, a player action controlled by the solo and harmony note perforations of the music-sheet, an air-tension producer connected to the player action,

means controlled by said dynamics-expiression perforations for regulating the air tension in the player action, thus expressing; the dynamics of the part of the composition corresponding to the note perforations to which the dynamics-expression perforations are related and thereby providing an aural guide for the performer to follow in the rendition of the other part of the composition, and means controllable by the performer for producing relatively increased air tension in the player action at the times when the note perforations for said other part only of the composition, come into rep; ister With the tracker board, thus giving, at the Will of the performer, a distinctive dynamics-expression to said other part only of the composition, as indicated by said aural guide.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 4th day of llovember, 1918.

JOSEPH HUNTER DICKINSUN. 

